List of blackface minstrel songs

This is a list of songs that either originated in blackface minstrelsy or are otherwise closely associated with that tradition. Songwriters and publication dates are given where known.

A

* "Alabama Joe" (a.k.a. "Shall Trelawney Die") (before 1855)The Canebrake Minstrels.]
* "The Arkansas Traveler" [Nathan 209.]
* "At Night When de Nigga's Work Is Done"Mahar 368.]

B

* "Babylon Is Fallen", Henry Clay Work (1863)
* "Back Side of Albany"Winans 5. Winans gives no more information than the title.]
* "The Band of Niggers! From 'Ole Virginny State'" (1844)Nathan 84.]
* "The Bee-Gum", G. Willig (1833) [Nathan 161.]
* "Billy Patterson", Dan Emmett (1860) [Nathan 254-5.]
* "The Black Brigade", Dan Emmett (1863) [Nathan 255.]
* "Blue Tail Fly" (a.k.a. "Jimmy Crack Corn") c. 1846 [Lott 200.]
* "The Boatman's Dance", credited to Dan Emmett (1843)Winans 4.] (Emmett, Boston, 1840s or 1842) (Nathan 131-2, 186, 191, 193, 320-3)
* "Bonja Song" (c. 1820) [Nathan 159-60.]
* "Bowery Gals" (a.k.a. "As I Was Lumbering")
* "Bress Dat Lubly Yaller Gal"
* "Briggs' Breakdown", Z. Bacchus [Nathan 483-4]

C

* "Camptown Races", Stephen Foster, (1850) [From [http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem833.html Representative Poetry Online] ; the site does not specifically single this out as a minstrel tune, but it is by Foster, and the dialect is immediately apparent.]
* "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny"* James A. BlandScheytt.]
* "Charleston Gals" (1844)Nathan 207.]
* "Ching a Ring Chaw" [Cockrell 148. Cockrell gives no composer or date of publication.]
* "Claire de Kitchen", performed as early as 1832 by T. D. Rice and George Washington Dixon [Cockrell 47-9.]
* "Clar de Track", 1840s.Mahar 367.]
* "Clem Titus' Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 194.]
* "Coal Black Rose" (c. 1829) [Lott 133: performed 1833 by T. D. Rice in "Oh, Hush! or The Virginny Cupids".] [Cockrell, p. xi.]
* "Come Back Stephen"/"Come Back Steben"
* "Cornfield Green"Nathan 215.]
* "Cynthia Sue"

D

* "Dandy Broadway Swell", Elias Howe (1849) [Nathan 59.]
* "Dandy Jim from Caroline" (and variants), Dan Emmett (c. 1844) [Nathan 324-7.]
* "Dar He Goes! Dats Him!", Dan Emmett (1844) [Nathan 183-4.]
* "Dere Be Any Malted Licker Here?" [Nathan 187]
* "Darkey Money Musk" (a.k.a. "Money Must", "Holyrood or Moneymusk", "Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk's Reel"), Daniel Dow (1780)
* "Darkies' Pastime" [Nathan 190.]
* "Dearest May"
* "Dick Myers' Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 200-1.]
* "Dinah's Wedding Day"
* "Division Street Jig", Z. Bacchus [Nathan 485.]
* "Dixie" (a.k.a. "Dixie's Land", "I Wish I Was in Dixie"), usually attributed to Dan Emmett, 1859 [The writer of "Dixie" is contested. Many sources, including Nathan, credit Dan Emmett as the song's writer. Sacks and Sacks, on the other hand, name members of the Snowden Family Band as the writers. Abel 47-8 lays out the claim to the song made by William Shakespeare Hays.]
* "Do Fare You Well Ladies" (1840s) [Nathan 86.]
* "Do I Do I Don't Do Nothing" (1825) [Nathan 159.]
* "Dr. Hekok Jig", Z. Bacchus, published by Dan Emmett(Nathan 200, 203, 208, 486-7)

E

* "Eelam Moore Jig", Dan Emmett (before 1854) [Nathan 345-6.]
* "Effects of the Brogue", (a.k.a. "Tatter Jack") Dan Emmett (by 1861)

F

* " [Far You Well Ladies|Far [Fare] You Well Ladies] "
* "Farewell My Lilly Dear", Stephen Foster (1851)Lott 187.]
* "The Fine Old Color'd Gentleman", Dan Emmett (1843)
* "De Floating Scow Quickstep" (a.k.a. "Oh Carry Me Back to Old Virginny"*), E. Ferrett (1847) [The Canebrake Minstrels: This is a different song from the "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" composed by James A. Bland.]
* "Forty Hosses in de Stable", J. Kierman (1840s) [Nathan 75.]
* "The Free Nigger", sung by R. W. Pelham (1841)Nathan 57.]

G

* "Gantz's Jig", published by Dan EmmettNathan 195.]
* "Genuine Negro Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 202-4.]
* "Get Up in de Morning"
* "Ginger Blue" (1841) [Nathan 79.]
* "Grape Vine Twist" [Nathan 191-2.]
* "Gonna Eat Ma Chicken 'Til I'm Fried" [Nathan 244-5]
* "Gray Goose and Gander"
* "Guinea Maid"
* "Gumbo Chaff" (a.k.a. "Gombo Chaff"), early 1830s [Nathan 173.]
* "Gwine to de Mill", Jay R. Jenkins (1846) [Nathan 432-4.]

H

* "Happy Are We Darkies So Gay"
* "Hard Times", Tom Briggs (1855)Winans 5.]
* "Hell on the Wabash Jig" [Nathan 194-5]
* "High Daddy", Dan Emmett (1863) [Nathan 395-400.]
* "Hop Light, Loo", Dan Emmett (before 1854) [Nathan 334.]
* "Hot Corn"

I

* "I Ain't Got Time to Tarry" (a.k.a. "The Land of Freedom"), Dan Emmett (1858)Nathan 243.]
* "I'm Going Home to Dixie", Dan Emmett (1861) [Abel 41.]
* "I'm Gwine ober de Mountain", Dan Emmett (1843) [Nathan 316.]
* "I Saw the Beam in My Sister's Eye" [Nathan 208.]
* "Ireland and Virginia"Lott 95: these were essentially Irish nationalist songs in blackface.]

J

* "Jack on the Green", Dan Emmett [Nathan 277.]
* "James Crow", Sam Carusi (1832) [Nathan 55-6.]
* "Jenny Get Your Hoe Cake Done", popularized by Joel Sweeney (1840)Cockrell 10.]
* "Jim Along Josey", credited to "an Eminent professor" and performed by John N. Smith (1840) [Cockrell 5.]
* "Jim Brown" (1835)
* "Jim Crow" (2007) John Mellencamp from the cd "Freedom's Road"
* "Joe Sweeney's Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 199.]
* "Johnny Boker "or" De Broken Yoke in de Coaling Ground" (1840) [Nathan 439-42.]
* "Johnny Roach", Dan Emmett (1859) [Nathan 244.]
* "Jolly Raftsman"
* "Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel", Dan Emmett (1853) [Nathan 335-9]
* "The Jolly Raftsman"
* "Juba" [Nathan 443-6.]
* "Juber" (1840s) [Nathan 73.]
* "Jumbo Jum" (1840) [Nathan 72.]
* "Jump Jim Crow", (c. 1823, popularized by T.D. Rice in 1828)

K

* "Kingdom Coming" (a.k.a. "Year of Jublio"), Henry Clay Work (1862)

L

* "Land of Canaan", played by J. Simmons (before 1860)
* "A Life by the Galley Fire"
* "De Long Island Nigger", Emma Snow (?) (c. 1848)
* "Long Time Ago", John Cole (1833) [Nathan 161-2.]
* "Loozyanna Low Grounds", Dan Emmett (1859) [Nathan 379-80]
* "Lucy Neal"/"Lucy Neale" J. P. Carter (1844)
* "Lynchburg Town"

M

* "Marty Inglehart Jig", Dan Emmett (1845) [Nathan 204-5.]
* "Mary Blane" (a.k.a. "Mary Blain"), Billy Whitlock (1846)
* "Massa Is a Stingy Man" (1841) [Nathan 64-6.]
* "Merry Sleigh Bells"
* "Miss Lucy Long" (a.k.a. "Lucy Long", "Miss Lucy Song"), Dan Emmett and Frank Brower (1844), or Billy Whitlock (1842) or possibly Billy Whitlock (1838) [Nathan 130-1.]
* "Moze Haymar Jig", Dan Emmett (1845) [Nathan 340.]
* "My Old Kentucky Home", Stephen Foster (1853)
* "My First Jig", Dan Emmett (c. 1840s) [Nathan 348.]
* "My Long Tail Blue" (1830s)
* "My Old Aunt Sally" (1843) [Nathan 175-6.]
* "My Old Dad"/"Old Dad" (1844) [Nathan 447-9.]

N

* "Negro Jig", Dan Emmett (1845)
* "Nelly Was a Lady", Stephen Foster (1849)
* "New York Gals", Emma Snow? [Nathan 88.]
* "The Newton Jig", James Buckley (1860) [Nathan 488.]
* "Nigga General"
* "Nigger on de Wood Pile", Dan Emmett (1845)

O

* "(O Lud Gals,) Gib Me [Us] Chaw Terbakur", words by Dan Emmett (1843) [Nathan 475-8.]
* "Oh, Come along John" a.k.a. "Walk along John" (1843) [Nathan 450-3.]
* "Oh, Ladies All!", Dan Emmett (published 1858, probably written in the 1840s) [Nathan 332-3.]
* "Oh! Susanna"
* "Old Bob Ridley", Charles White (1855) [Nathan 81.]
* "Old Dan Tucker", words by Dan Emmett (1843)
* "Old Folks at Home", Stephen Foster (1851)
* "Old Joe", F. M. Brower (1844) [Nathan 457-60.]
* "Old Joe Golden" [Nathan 467-8.]
* "Old Johnny Boker"
* "Old King Crow"
* "Old K. Y. Ky.", Dan Emmett (1860) [Nathan 385-9.]
* "Old Tar River"/Ole Tare River" (1840) [Nathan 471-4.]
* "Ole Bull and Old Dan Tucker" (1844) [Mahar 22.]
* "The Ole Grey Goose" (1844) [Nathan 461-3.]
* "De Ole Jawbone" (and variants), perhaps Joel Sweeney (1840)
* "Ole Pee Dee", J. P. Carter (1844) [Nathan 469-70.]
* "Ole Virginny Break Down" (1841) [Nathan 90.]
* "Oh Lemuel", Stephen Foster (1850)
* "Oh! Susanna, Stephen Foster (1847) [Lott 203-206.]
* "Old Uncle Ned", Stephen Foster (1848)
* "Owl Creek Quickstep", Dan EmmettSacks and Sacks 170.]

P

* "Pea Patch Jig", Dan Emmett
* "Peel's Jig"Nathan 489.]
* "Peter Story Jig", Dan Emmett [Nathan 341-2.]
* "Philadelphia Gals"
* "Philisee Charcoal"
* "Picayune Butler (Ahoo! Ahoo!)"
* "Picayune Butler's Come to Town" (before 1847) [Nathan 154]
* "Possum up the Gum-Tree" [Nathan 186.]

Q

* "Quaker's Jig", R. Myers

R

* "Ring, Ring De Banjo", Stephen Foster (1851) [Lott 194.]
* "Rise Old Napper"
* "Road to Richmond", Dan Emmett (1864) [Nathan 370-3.]
* "Rob Ridley", Charles White (1855)
* "Rock Susana", Horace Weston (1887) [Nathan 490.]
* "Root, Hog or Die", Dan Emmett (c. late 1840s or early 1850s) [Nathan 347.]
* "Rosa Lee"

* "Sad to Leave Our Tater Land" (early 1850s)
* "Sandy Boy", possibly Phil Rice (before 1858)
* "Sandy Gibson's", Dan Emmett (1859) [Nathan 366-9.]
* "Seely Simpkins Jig", Dan Emmett
* "Settin' on a Rail" (1836)Cockrell 47.]
* "Shew Fly" (1869) [Nathan 89.]
* "Sich a Gettin' Up Stairs" (c. 1834)
* "Singing Darkey of the Ohio"
* "Skeeters Do Bite"
* "Sliding Jenny Jig", R. Myers [Nathan 490-1.]
* "Someone in de House wif Dinah", possibly Phil Rice (before 1858)
* "Stop Dat Knocking", A. F. Winnemore (1847)
* "Sugar Cane Green"
* "Sugar in a Gourd"
* "Suke of Tennessee"
* "Susey Brown"/"Suzy Brown"
* "Sweep Oh!"

T

* "Tell Me Josey Whar You Bin" (1840) [Nathan 65.]
* "To the Cornfields Away"
* "Tom Brigg's Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 200-1.]
* "Turkey in the Straw", words by Dan Emmett [Nathan 174.]
* "'Twill Nebber Do to Gib It up So", Dan Emmett (1843) [Nathan 403-9.]

U

* "Uncle Gabriel" (1848) [Nathan 87.]

V

* "Van Bramer's Jig", published by Dan Emmett [Nathan 491.]
* "Virginia's Lubly Ground"

W

* "Walk Along John" (1843) [Mahar 196.]
* "Walk Jaw Bone" (c. 1840)
* "Westchester Nigga Song"
* "Whar Did You Come From?" (subtitled "Knock a Nigger Down"), performed by Joel Sweeney (1840)
* "Whar Is de Spot We Were Born?"
* "What O' Dat", Dan Emmett (1859) [Nathan 381-4.]
* "Whoop Jamboree Jig" [Nathan 191.]
* "Who's Dat Knocking"
* "Who's Dat Nigga Dar a Peepin" (1844) [Nathan 479-82.]
* "Wide Awake" a.k.a. "Dar's a Darkey in de Tent", Dan Emmett (early 1859)
* " [Wild Raccoon Track| [In de/In the] Wild Raccoon Track] "
* "De Wild Goose-Nation", Dan Emmett (1844) [Nathan 257.]

Y

* "Yellow Corn"

Z

* "Zip Coon" (a.k.a. "Old Zip Coon"), performed by George Washington Dixon (1829? 1835?) [ [http://info.berkeley.edu/courses/is182/s02/paint168.html page on U.C. Berkeley site] , [http://www.stephen-foster-songs.de/Amsong59.htm page on www.stephen-foster-songs.de] , accessed 11 Sept 2005. The tune is better known today as "Turkey in the Straw", although those are later lyrics.]

Notes

References

* Abel, E. Lawrence (2000). "Singing the New Nation: How Music Shaped the Confederacy, 1861-1865". Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books.
* The Canebrake Minstrels (2003). [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/canebrake Website] for "Finer than Frog Hair". Accessed 12 September 2005.
* Cockrell, Dale (1997). "Demons of Disorder: Early Blackface Minstrels and Their World". Cambridge University Press.
* Lott, Eric (1993). "Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class". Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509641-X.
* Mahar, William J. (1999). "Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture". Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
* Nathan, Hans (1962). "Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy". Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
* Sacks, Howard L. and Sacks, Judith Rose (1993). "Way up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate Anthem". Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
* Scheytt, Jochen. [http://www.jochenscheytt.de/minstrelshow/minpreface.html "The Minstrel Show"] . Accessed 8 September 2005.
* Winans, Robert B. (1985). Liner notes to "The Early Minstrel Show". New York: Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc.

ee also

* Hokum
* Coon song
* Minstrel show